I just sent off my donation but wanted to leave kudos to everyone involved with TFP. I've been around the site for a year or so but only got serious a month ago or so when we got a "new to us" Hot Springs spa. Everything I needed was here....from the Ahh-some cleanout through balance, CYA, bleach and borate.
Because the spa required more frequent checking due to smaller water size (325 gallons) I started testing the 15,000 gallon pool at the same time. Got the CYA dialed in and started realizing the savings of measuring chemicals instead of eyeballing. Since I'd borated the spa I went ahead and ordered the boric acid from Duda. Boy was that easy.
Now for the last several weeks the spa and pool are as beautiful as ever, take fewer chemicals than ever ($), require less actual maintenance, and I've been able to cut my pump run time from 10 hours/day to 5. The borates have made the water "smoother and silkier" and seem prone to much more stable ph and TA levels. I add minimum required chlorine/bleach every two days or so and ph control every 2 or 3 days. TA seems rock solid.
Another side benefit came from lowering TA with acid and adding aeration to get Ph up before borating the pool. I got a $15 dollar waterfall at Walmart which helped the Ph....but also is COOLING THE POOL. The waterfall adds a nice visual look....a wonderful sound...and runs when the pump is running. Where our Florida water temp this time of year would be in the mid 90's, now is 84-86...much more enjoyable.
It took a couple of hours of reading and note taking here....and a week or so of diligent monitoring and noting water levels to get things right. How I'm confident to keep it with minimum effort.
All it takes is READ and BELIEVE.
Thanks
Randy In Florida
Because the spa required more frequent checking due to smaller water size (325 gallons) I started testing the 15,000 gallon pool at the same time. Got the CYA dialed in and started realizing the savings of measuring chemicals instead of eyeballing. Since I'd borated the spa I went ahead and ordered the boric acid from Duda. Boy was that easy.
Now for the last several weeks the spa and pool are as beautiful as ever, take fewer chemicals than ever ($), require less actual maintenance, and I've been able to cut my pump run time from 10 hours/day to 5. The borates have made the water "smoother and silkier" and seem prone to much more stable ph and TA levels. I add minimum required chlorine/bleach every two days or so and ph control every 2 or 3 days. TA seems rock solid.
Another side benefit came from lowering TA with acid and adding aeration to get Ph up before borating the pool. I got a $15 dollar waterfall at Walmart which helped the Ph....but also is COOLING THE POOL. The waterfall adds a nice visual look....a wonderful sound...and runs when the pump is running. Where our Florida water temp this time of year would be in the mid 90's, now is 84-86...much more enjoyable.
It took a couple of hours of reading and note taking here....and a week or so of diligent monitoring and noting water levels to get things right. How I'm confident to keep it with minimum effort.
All it takes is READ and BELIEVE.
Thanks
Randy In Florida
